Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Blown Away 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 6, 2024

Stephen Hopkins' "Blown Away" (1994) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; archival audio commentary by Stephen Hopkins; production featurette; archival promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

A key element of the story told in Blown Away has always bothered me. It instantly damages its credibility, so I do not understand why it was not altered or dropped.

Jeff Bridges is Jimmy Dove, an explosives expert who makes ends meet with the Boston bomb squad. He is a team player, but his working methods are such that he often disables bombs alone. Most of his colleagues see him as a mad hero but do not know that he battles intense bouts of fear that regularly empty his stomach. It is why Jimmy has started wondering whether it is time to call it quits.

When an incredibly skilled bomber begins terrorizing Boston and then targeting his colleagues, Jimmy puts his retirement plan on hold. While studying the bomber’s modus operandi, Jimmy then quickly concludes that he and his colleagues are facing a genuine master -- a lot like someone he knew decades ago, before he relocated from Belfast to Boston. Soon after, Jimmy is contacted by the master, Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), an Irish radical who has managed to escape from Castle Gleigh Prison, and told that he is about to discover “a new country called Chaos, and a new government called Anarchy.” Jimmy and his colleagues begin looking for him, but are repeatedly outsmarted and outmaneuvered in a deadly game threatening to bring Boston to its knees.

The catalyst of all the drama in Blown Away is the crucial revelation that Jimmy’s real name is Liam McGivney, and he is a former partner of the man he is trying to get. The revelation comes very early and is repeatedly linked to quick flashbacks of a failed terrorist operation in Northern Ireland. So, the man terrorizing Boston and targeting Jimmy and his colleagues is not a deranged lunatic but consumed by anger avenger who seeks justice. How is this possible? How can a former Irish terrorist enter America illegally and, while using an alias, become the top explosives expert with the Boston bomb squad? It is true that Boston has always been a huge magnet for Irish immigrants, legal and illegal, but how does a reformed Irish terrorist enter America unrecognized and become the go-to man in the local bomb squad? It gets even sillier. To be absolutely certain that he is facing his former partner, Jimmy contacts Interpol and is provided with his complete history, which of course includes detailed information about his terrorist activities in Northern Ireland with, well, Jimmy. I am sorry, but this is too much. A reformed Irish terrorist could have figured out a way to get into America with fake documents and then settle down in Boston, but he would have kept a low profile. He could have started a new life as a bartender in a pub. He could have been a taxi driver. He could have been a janitor at Fenway Park. He would not have tried to get a job with the bomb squad, where later he would stick out like a sore thumb because his knowledge of explosives and working methods are unmatched. Irish terrorists and especially those that were in some ways involved with the IRA were incredibly protective of their past, so the ones that came to America worked very hard to blend in with the locals.

If this major flaw is ignored, Blown Away becomes a good multi-layered action drama with several fine secondary characters. For example, Jimmy is joined by newcomer Anthony “Don’t Call Me Tony” Franklin (Forest Whitaker), who eventually puts two and two together and realizes that the man next to him is someone else, but correctly concludes that he has irreversibly evolved. Jimmy’s new wife, Kate (Suzy Adams), makes the same discovery while becoming a target, too. Jimmy’s best pal, Max O’Bannon (Lloyd Bridges), a wise old-timer with a murky past, is also dragged into the deadly game.

The action material looks great. There are numerous wonderfully lensed very tense situations and several outstanding large-scale explosions. Only the finale is slightly overpolished and perhaps somewhat underwhelming, or at least considering that Blown Away is an R-rated film.

The soundtrack mixes several hits by U2 (“With or Without You”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”), Joe Cocker and Bekka Bramlett ("Take Me Home"), The Pogues (“Tuesday Morning”), Aretha Franklin (“You’ll Lose a Good Thing”), and original music by Alan Silvestri.

Blown Away 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Blown Away is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-30 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #33-38 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration sourced from the film's original camera negative. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision. I also spent time with the 1080p presentation of it on the Blu-ray.

The new 4K restoration is quite the revelation. It looked so impressive on my system that I did not feel the need to do any direct comparisons with Kino Lorber's original Blu-ray release of Blown Away from 2015. Indeed, the improvements in quality are significant and across the board -- outdoor visuals, indoor visual, and nighttime visuals all look much, much better now. Color balance is outstanding as well. All primaries and all supporting nuances are dramatically better saturated, a lot healthier, and better balanced. As a result, entire sections of the film can have a completely different appearance. All of the footage from the old ship, for instance, looks richer and more vibrant. Fluidity is excellent, so if you have a large screen, you will be quite impressed with the stability and even movement of the visuals. I did not encounter any surface imperfections to mention in our review.

Is the native 4K presentation significantly better than the 1080p presentation? No. The Dolby Vision grade does not produce any big upticks in quality during darker and lighter footage, though several of the big explosions have a richer appearance in native 4K. In some areas, sharpness is superior as well, but you will have to have the native 4K and 1080p presentations next to each other to immediately appreciate the difference. Still, if you have a very large screen, the native 4K presentation is unquestionably preferable.

Blown Away 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

I viewed the entire film with the 5.1 track. I thought the previous Blu-ray release had an excellent 5.1 track, and the 5.1 track on this release performs just as well. Admittedly, Blown Away plenty of action material with big explosions that makes it easy to be impressed by dynamic contrasts and pure intensity, but I think that the music is very nicely mixed as well. The dialog is always clear, clean, and easy to follow.

Blown Away 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, director Stephen Hopkins discusses in great detail various aspects of the structural construction of Blown Away (why certain locations in Boston were chosen and how they were lensed), the shooting of the massive explosions, the different performances of the leads and how they strengthened the film's identity, the film's critical reception, etc.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The commentators discuss the production history and box office performance of Blown Away, the IRA's activities in the United Kingdom, Boston and its identity and presence in the film, the quality of the action, etc. Also, there are plenty of observations about the careers of Stephen Hopkins and the leads.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, director Stephen Hopkins discusses in great detail various aspects of the structural construction of Blown Away (why certain locations in Boston were chosen and how they were lensed), the shooting of the massive explosions, the different performances of the leads and how they strengthened the film's identity, the film's critical reception, etc.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The commentators discuss the production history and box office performance of Blown Away, the IRA's activities in the United Kingdom, Boston and its identity and presence in the film, the quality of the action, etc. Also, there are plenty of observations about the careers of Stephen Hopkins and the leads.

• The Making of Blown Away: A Day in the Life of a Bomb Squad - this archival program takes a closer look at the production of Blown Away. Included in it are clips from interviews with Stephen Hopkins, cast members, and real bomb explosive experts. The program is hosted by Lloyd Bridges. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Music Video - presented here is an original music video for Joe Cocker and Bekka Bramlett's "Take Me Home". (5 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered original theatrical trailer for Blown Away. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spots - presented here are several vintage TV spots for Blown Away. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Blown Away 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While I have always liked Blown Away and kept a copy of it in my library, I have never defended it as a realistic film, which is how it was promoted in the 1990s. Do I think that it should have been a realistic film? Yes, and no. A few tweaks easily could have transformed it into a very serious film that nowadays would have been regarded as one of the best of its kind. On the other hand, it was conceived to be a summer blockbuster and expected to compete with Speed, and these types of big-budget films are almost always allergic to realism. Kino Lorber's combo pack introduces an outstanding new 4K restoration of Blown Away that looks gorgeous in native 4K and 1080p. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.